After almost eight months of negotiations, we have reached a tentative agreement with Providence Everett (PRMCE)! From the beginning our goal was to improve staffing to ensure our patients and community would receive the quality care we so desperately want to give them. We identified that we could achieve this through staffing language, which would strengthen our voices on the Hospital Staffing Committee and supplement the staffing law’s guidelines (https://ufcw3000.org/safestaffing), and being competitive with other area hospitals.

It was through our collective actions we were able to pressure PRMCE to accept many of our staffing concepts, including a staffing premium. We went out on an unfair labor practice strike because PRMCE was not considering our proposals in good faith. PRMCE told us they would never agree to a staffing premium before or after a strike, but the power of our strike pressured them to agree to this and additional staffing language and incentives. We are the first hospital in WA state to have binding mediation for unresolved chronic staffing issues and a staffing premium for RNs when their unit is staffed below the Hospital Staffing Committee’s staffing plan, which is created by nurses and nurse managers.

Additionally, the third year of the contract was a major priority to assure we can recruit and retain nurses when other hospitals negotiate in 2025- and not have an exodus of nurses again.

We won stronger language on market analysis triggers and a full contract opener 6 months earlier in April 2026, meaning we can get to the table as early as January 2026 to negotiate a new agreement and remain competitive with other hospitals. We will join solidarity actions with other Providence Hospitals in 2025- and take that energy into our early 2026 negotiations.

The tentative agreement we reached on December 1st meets our goals and is recommended by a majority of our bargaining team!

We will be holding a Zoom meeting this Tuesday December 5 at 8pm to discuss and answer questions about the tentative agreement document and next steps.

We will be giving nurses a choice to approve or reject the tentative agreement and approve or reject a strike via an online vote on December 15 from 6:30am to 8pm. Similar to the strike authorization vote in October, all voting will occur online, and we will hold optional in-person meetings at the Colby and Pacific/Pavilion campuses.

Your voice is important, and we encourage you all to read through the tentative agreements below and vote online on December 15. Only members in good standing are eligible to vote.

Summary of tentative agreements:  

Full Tentative Agreement Redline on the PRMCE RN contract page at ufcw3000.org >>

Economic

• Extra shift incentive: If a nurse’s unit is staffed at 80% or below then, full-time RNs (.9 – 1.0 FTE) who pick up an extra shift shall receive double time. Part-time nurses (.05 -.89 FTE) who pick-up an extra shift will receive 1.5 their regular rate of pay and will receive double time if they work above a .9 FTE. Per diem nurses who work more than 2 shifts per pay period shall receive 1.5 their regular rate of pay and double time if they work above a .9 FTE). The Employer can offer an incentive above this requirement, but this now the minimum incentive that nurses must receive when picking up an extra shift

• President’s Day is swapped for Dr. Martin Luther King Day (MLK)

• Christmas Day for Night shift RNs: The holiday will be defined as 6:30am on December 25th to 7am on December 26th

• Holiday Substitute: Nurses can switch a holiday for a day of importance to them. Example: switching MLK Day for your birthday

• Low Census: traveler RNs will censused before agency RNs

• Weekend pay expanded- Nurses working Saturday and Sunday night will receive weekend pay for Sunday night

• Twelve .9 FTE relief nurses will be hired to cover meal and rest breaks

• Shift differential increased to $3 for evening shift and $5.25 for night shift

• Low census standby increased to $4.75/ hour

• Standby differential increased to $6.75/ hour

• Relief charge nurse pay increased to $3/ hour

• Intermittent night shift premium of 1.5 time regular rate of pay for non-night shift nurses who pick up a night shift

• Preceptor pay increased to $2/ hour

• Float pool pay increased to $5/ hour

• Non-float pool pay increased to $2/ hour

• EIB will now be paid out on day 1 of an illness

• Health insurance premiums will not increase more than 10% on a blended average in 2024 or 2025

• Bereavement leave shall increase to 40 hours of paid time for spouses, significant others, or children.

• Professional development leave: 40 hours prorated by FTE

• Continuing education increased to $700 for .75 - 1.0 FTE and $500 for .6 - .74 FTE

• Tuition Reimbursement: Up to $5,250 for .75 FTE or more and up to $2, 625 for .74 FTE to .5 FTE

• Wage increases

Two pay periods following ratification, the following wage scale will be implemented.

The new base rate of $43.91 aligns with Swedish Edmonds and the top of the scale exceeds Swedish Edmonds through June 2025.

Effective the first full pay period following 10/1/2024, nurses will receive a four percent (4%) across the board increase.

Effective the first full pay period following 10/1/2025, nurses will receive a four percent (4.5%) across the board increase.

• For Nurses on the payroll upon ratification and who were also on the payroll on June 1, 2020, will be paid a bonus of $1,200, pro-rated by FTE (per diem will be counted as .25 FTE) on the second full pay period following ratification

• For Nurses on the payroll ratification and who are also on the payroll on December 1, 2025, will be paid a bonus of $1,000, pro-rated by FTE (per diem will be counted as .25), less applicable withholdings, on the first full pay period following December 1, 2025

• Year for year experience- All nurses will receive one step for one year of continuous experience. Nurses with 12 months or less shall be placed on the corresponding step on February 1st, 2024, according to their resume on file. 60 days from ratification, current nurses shall have the opportunity to resubmit their resumes to HR to adjust their wage steps. On March 1, 2024 nurses will be placed on the corresponding step based on their resume on file

• Wage step increases- Wage step increases will now be calculated using 12 month increments versus 1872 hours. There will be a recalculation of wage step increases for all current nurses’ steps. Annually nurses will start advancing one additional step on their work anniversary after ratification. In 2026, nurses will progress through the remaining steps to reach the appropriate level. For instance, if a nurse, working at a .75 FTE, should be on wage step 14 based on a 12-month calculation, but is currently on wage step 10 due to the 1872-hour calculation, their wage steps will be recalculated. They will get two step wage increases in 2024 and 2025 and then be brought to their appropriate step in 2026

• Modified Baylor Shift- Positions will be posted 30 days after ratification for positions which will work a .6 FTE only on the weekends. All weekend shifts will be paid at 1.5 regular rate of pay and additional shifts will be paid at straight time, unless overtime rules apply

• Night shift differential- Night shift nurses, who have 24 months or more working on night shift, will receive an annual bonus of $1,500 (prorated by FTE) on January 1, 2025

• Staffing Premium- Nurses working in a unit averaging at or below 85% staffing according to the plan will receive a $300 bonus (prorated by FTE) the following month. Per diems will receive this bonus prorated at .3 FTE. This will expire one year from ratification but can be revisited by the Hospital Staffing Committee

• 2.5 year agreement- The Hospital and the Union have agreed to initiate contract renegotiation by or before April 30, 2026, allowing for negotiation closer to other area hospitals' contract expirations

• Market Analysis  of wages will be conducted every September and the results will be shared with the Union. If there is a difference between the average of the current wage scale and the average wage of the market analysis the Hospital and Union will meet to discuss solutions, like wage increases or bonuses, to make PRMCE more competitive

Non-economic and Staffing

• Union membership- New nurses will have 21 days to join the union or 14 days to opt out of union membership. Newly hired nurses who do not opt in or opt out of the union shall be removed from the schedule within 30 days of the union notifying PRMCE. If the nurse does not make an election within 90 days after PRMCE receives notice from the union the nurse shall be discharged. This language grants more time, when compared to the previous language, for new nurses to make a decision on union membership. Nurses may opt out of union membership and donate their union membership fee to a non-religious organization if their religion objects to them joining a labor organization. Personal emails shall be provided to the union, if available

• Access to conference rooms on units- The Union representative shall have access to the conference rooms on the floor

• Non-Discrimination language which reflects diversity, equity, and inclusion

• Charge nurses and relief charge nurses shall generally not be expected to take a patient assignment. A charge nurse will only take a patient care assignment if it is mutually agreed upon and the charge nurse will use their professional judgment to determine if they should take a patient assignment

• Updated Skill departments

• Nurses can email the Hospital if they wish to accept a recall position

• Discipline- Written warning will be removed after 18 months (about 1 and a half years), upon request, as long as the warning is not related to patient care violations. Coachings will be removed after 9 months, upon request

• Staffing- The Hospital Staffing Committee members will be comprised of 50% or more nurses per SB 5236 staffing law and decisions must reach consensus  Subcommittees shall review CSIs for their units and make recommendations to the Hospital Staffing Committee

• Binding Mediation- Chronic staffing issues existing within the same category for at least 90 calendar days can be moved to binding mediation one time per year. A mediator will hear solutions from the Hospital and the Union and then make a recommendation on a solution. The solution will be sent to the Hospital Staffing Committee on whether or not to adopt the solution

• The Hospital will review exit interviews, adverse events, and retention interviews

• MOU Collaborative Approach to Full Staffing- Commitment from Providence to staff the right staff, in the right place, at the right time. And timeline/process for working together through the Hospital Staffing Committee

• One year from ratification RN turnover goal is set to 15%. First Year RN Turnover: Over 25% top priority department, between 20-24% “at risk dept”, between 16-19% "watch list dept”, at 10% or below “share best practices”. Whenever a department is at 20%+ FYTO, a process is triggered to identify root causes for turnover and immediate solutions for retention

• Innovative staffing models, like the co-caring model, require approval by consensus from the Hospital Staffing Committee

• The Hospital will pay nurse techs for clinical hours  

• Adoption of the Healthy Work Environment (HWE) standard: skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, authentic leadership, and workplace violence

• Hospital Staffing Committee and Subcommittees will meet to review the open positions in units, review retention interview data and exit interview data, review, adjust, and employ tactics for retention and recruitment

• Core leaders and nurse volunteers will visit job fairs and schools to recruit nurses

Nurse Zoom Meeting
Tentative Agreement Q&A and next steps
Tuesday December 5 at 8:00 pm via zoom

*Join us to ask questions about the tentative agreements, what are the next steps if the contract is not approved, and any other questions you may have. We hope to see you there!

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81373254464?pwd=aVV0d3Q1YlhGaHByeVRycGV3QkF2QT09
Meeting ID: 813 7325 4464
Passcode: 757437

CONTRACT VOTE
Friday December 15- online and in person meetings at Hospital

*As soon as rooms are confirmed, we will email the times and locations of in-person meetings

Strike Benefits:

Strike Benefits checks were mailed on Monday 11/27 to all nurses who picketed 20+ hours and completed a W9. A second batch of checks will be sent this Monday 12/4 for nurses that forgot to sign in/out on at least one shift and had a "miss punch". We gave credit for these shifts and fixed the hours- and Union Leadership made the decision to pay out strike benefits to all nurses who picketed for 16+ hours. This makes sure there is a buffer to get the most people strike benefits and take into account any issues with sign in.

If you would like to confirm the status of your strike benefit check or would like to request additional financial hardship assistance, please email Kendra Valdez at kvaldez@ufcw3000.org.